US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said recently he thinks President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) should clarify whether his latest statements about a referendum and a new constitution violate his "four noes" pledge. Opposition parties and several media outlets hurried to add fuel to the flames by blaming Chen for once again having stepped over the line in the sand with regard to the US' Taiwan policy.
As the US is unable to distinguish between the political parties here, it is only natural for them to try to put down the brakes on referendum talk, and try to cool things down in order to avoid further tensions in cross-strait relations.
So has Chen overstepped his boundaries? Judging from his inauguration speeches in 2000 and this year, as well as the "10 points" he made during a speech last month, he seems to be standing firmly on his promise not to declare independence, change the national flag or title, or hold a referendum on unification or independence. But he has also promised the people of Taiwan a suitable new constitution during his term -- and that it will be decided via a referendum. At a quick glance, these two promises seem to be contradictory, but a more thorough look reveals his advocacy of amending the Constitution as being on the safe side of the US' "bottom line."
First, the Constitution in its current form was created in China, in 1947. It is a Constitution aimed at ruling the vast territories and population of China, Tibet and Mongolia, and as such it is of course unsuitable to the territory and people currently under its jurisdiction. The Constitution has been amended six times, but this piecemeal approach has failed to meet current needs. A one-time comprehensive constitutional amendment is necessary and also meets the public's expectations.
Second, in his May 20 inauguration speech, Chen stated specifically that since there was no domestic consensus over what to do about the national flag, national title and the territories mapped out by the Constitution, these would not be subject to amendment. As the symbols of the nation are not to be included in the discussions over constitutional amendments -- and any amendment will be confined to restructuring the administrative and political system -- then clearly Chen has not gone beyond the parameters set by the US.
The articles for constitutional amendment recently passed by the legislature include the dissolution of the National Assembly so that future amendments will be subject to approval through referendums. This is a legally required procedure in the amendment process. People should not be shocked when they see the words "constitutional amendment" and "referendum" together. A referendum is only a formality, and what is important is whether the nature of the proposed amendments fall within a respectable degree of tolerance. Washington is unable to distinguish between the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) "constitutional amendment referendum" and the Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) "referendum on correcting the name of Taiwan and rewriting the Constitution."
The DPP advocates a constitutional amendment that will retain the country's national emblems, while the TSU advocates the creation of a new constitution for the nation of Taiwan. Because of this divergence over amendments and the creation of a new constitution, Chen and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) have aired their differences publicly. Washington should not confuse the proposals of the DPP and the TSU, even though they are both a part of the pan-green camp.
Every country needs to make adjustments to its laws in response to a changing environment. Although Taiwan's international situation is unusual and it often finds itself under international scrutiny, it retains the right to build a political system adapted to its needs, so long as this action does not negatively impact its security and that of the international community.
On March 22, 2023, at the close of their meeting in Moscow, media microphones were allowed to record Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dictator Xi Jinping (習近平) telling Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin, “Right now there are changes — the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years — and we are the ones driving these changes together.” Widely read as Xi’s oath to create a China-Russia-dominated world order, it can be considered a high point for the China-Russia-Iran-North Korea (CRINK) informal alliance, which also included the dictatorships of Venezuela and Cuba. China enables and assists Russia’s war against Ukraine and North Korea’s
After thousands of Taiwanese fans poured into the Tokyo Dome to cheer for Taiwan’s national team in the World Baseball Classic’s (WBC) Pool C games, an image of food and drink waste left at the stadium said to have been left by Taiwanese fans began spreading on social media. The image sparked wide debate, only later to be revealed as an artificially generated image. The image caption claimed that “Taiwanese left trash everywhere after watching the game in Tokyo Dome,” and said that one of the “three bad habits” of Taiwanese is littering. However, a reporter from a Japanese media outlet
Taiwanese pragmatism has long been praised when it comes to addressing Chinese attempts to erase Taiwan from the international stage. “Taipei” and the even more inaccurate and degrading “Chinese Taipei,” imposed titles required to participate in international events, are loathed by Taiwanese. That is why there was huge applause in Taiwan when Japanese public broadcaster NHK referred to the Taiwanese Olympic team as “Taiwan,” instead of “Chinese Taipei” during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. What is standard protocol for most nations — calling a national team by the name their country is commonly known by — is impossible for
The Iran war has exposed a fundamental vulnerability in the global energy system. The escalating confrontation between Iran, Israel and the US has begun to shake international energy markets, largely because Iran is disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow waterway carries roughly one-third of the world’s seaborne oil, making it one of the most strategically sensitive energy corridors in the world. Even the possibility of disruption has triggered sharp volatility in global oil prices. The duration and scope of the conflict remain uncertain, with senior US officials offering contradictory signals about how long military operations might continue.
RSS